Mall expands -- parking doesn't / Shoppers are urged to take public transit to Bloomingdale's

Jennifer Emperador of San Francisco was the first in line since 4:30am to see the new mall and Bloomingdale's store, opening today in downtown San Francisco, will lure big crowds to the shops, restaurants and movie theaters. But visitors also could encounter traffic jams and parking shortages -- at least during the holidays and big events at Moscone Center. On Wednesday, shoppers attending a special preview of the new Westfield San Francisco Centre found that the Fifth and Mission parking garage was full at midday. Traffic backed up outside the mall because of lines of contractors' trucks and big rigs carrying last-minute merchandise deliveries. No new parking was built to accommodate the 25 million people a year expected to visit the mall, which has tripled in size. The decision not to add parking is in keeping with the city's "transit first" policy, which encourages the use of public transportation.
9/28/06
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Jennifer Emperador of San Francisco was the first in line since 4:30am to see the new mall and Bloomingdale's store, opening today in downtown San Francisco, will lure big crowds to the shops, restaurants and ... more

Photo: Frederic Larson

Photo: Frederic Larson

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Jennifer Emperador of San Francisco was the first in line since 4:30am to see the new mall and Bloomingdale's store, opening today in downtown San Francisco, will lure big crowds to the shops, restaurants and movie theaters. But visitors also could encounter traffic jams and parking shortages -- at least during the holidays and big events at Moscone Center. On Wednesday, shoppers attending a special preview of the new Westfield San Francisco Centre found that the Fifth and Mission parking garage was full at midday. Traffic backed up outside the mall because of lines of contractors' trucks and big rigs carrying last-minute merchandise deliveries. No new parking was built to accommodate the 25 million people a year expected to visit the mall, which has tripled in size. The decision not to add parking is in keeping with the city's "transit first" policy, which encourages the use of public transportation.
9/28/06
{ /The Chronicle} less

Jennifer Emperador of San Francisco was the first in line since 4:30am to see the new mall and Bloomingdale's store, opening today in downtown San Francisco, will lure big crowds to the shops, restaurants and ... more

Photo: Frederic Larson

Mall expands -- parking doesn't / Shoppers are urged to take public transit to Bloomingdale's

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A new mall and Bloomingdale's store, opening today in downtown San Francisco, will lure big crowds to the shops, restaurants and movie theaters. But visitors also could encounter traffic jams and parking shortages -- at least during the holidays and big events at Moscone Center.

On Wednesday, shoppers attending a special preview of the new Westfield San Francisco Centre found that the Fifth and Mission parking garage was full at midday. Traffic backed up outside the mall because of lines of contractors' trucks and big rigs carrying last-minute merchandise deliveries.

No new parking was built to accommodate the 25 million people a year expected to visit the mall, which has tripled in size. The decision not to add parking is in keeping with the city's "transit first" policy, which encourages the use of public transportation.

City officials say that policy has worked elsewhere, namely at the Giants' AT&T Park, which opened in 2000 with little new parking. Thirty-two transit lines -- including BART and Muni -- serve the new Westfield San Francisco Centre, billed as the largest urban shopping center west of the Mississippi.

"No shopping center in the world, I don't care if you're in the middle of Kansas, can provide the parking you need between Thanksgiving and Christmas," he said. "You have to plan for what a normal day is."

And on a normal day, he said, plenty of parking is available in city garages and smaller private lots. Across the street, the city's largest garage -- the 2,585-space Fifth and Mission Garage -- is only 60 percent full on average at the busiest time of day.

"At this point, it appears there is ample parking," said Maggie Lynch, spokeswoman for the Department of Parking and Traffic. "But I'm certainly not a psychic. We feel our parking and traffic people have prepared, but we're going to monitor the situation."

In addition to the nearby cable car lines, historic streetcars and bus routes, visitors can take the new direct entrance from the mall's concourse level to the Powell Station, which serves BART and Muni Metro. New BART entry gates were installed near the shopping center's entrance.

"The use of mass transit is the most convenient way to go to the center," said Steve Eimer, vice president of development for Westfield Group, the mall's owner.

Westfield officials won't say whether more parking is needed, but Eimer said it should be considered given South of Market development.

"Transportation in the mid-Market and South of Market areas is a city infrastructure issue that needs sound planning, long-term thinking and creative solutions," Eimer said.

BART spokesman Linton Johnson said his agency hopes the mall will increase ridership, although Tom Radulovich, a BART director and SoMa resident, said he was disappointed that Westfield didn't provide more bicycle parking. The company also should have done more to promote transit, he said.

"They need to be doing what the ballpark did," he said. "Being very, very proactive, saying 'Don't drive. Walk, bike, take transit.' "

Marian Lebrun, 55, of Novato and Maxine Parrick, 59, of San Francisco waited in lines with thousands of other shoppers Wednesday for a special sneak peek inside. They parked across the street at the Fifth and Mission Garage.

"It wasn't a problem at all," Lebrun said. "The lines were a little insane, though," especially in the morning, when they went around the block.

But Parrick expects problems as more high-end merchants move into a neighborhood that was once largely ignored.

"If they're going to keep adding stores, they're going to have to add some parking or some direct transit," she said.

Developers Westfield Group and Forest City paid the city $1.5 million for future parking projects as part of the development deal. They also restriped Mission Street to create a valet parking zone in front of the main Bloomingdale's entrance and will help pay for traffic control officers when needed, including at today's grand opening.

Mall deliveries are to be made outside of commute hours at an enclosed loading dock on Jessie Street West. Westfield officials say the truck traffic should ease considerably once construction crews disappear and stores are stocked.

Aside from the grand opening, the area surrounding the center is likely to get its first big congestion test Oct. 22-26 during Oracle Open World 2006. The convention is expected to draw 41,000 people, including many Northern Californians who will drive to the event. A block of Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets will be closed and filled with tents.

Oct. 22-26: Oracle Open World 2006 is expected to draw 41,000 people, including Northern California residents, to all three Moscone Center venues. Howard Street will be closed and lined with tents between Third and Fourth streets.

Nov. 18-26: San Francisco International Auto Show usually draws about 400,000 visitors over nine days.